The Right to be Angry
by Cochrane
Summary: Chat Noir checks on Marinette after an Akuma attack at their school, and discusses how Hawkmoth affects his victims.


"That is a lot of spikes, princess."

"Chat Noir?" Marinette looked up from the dress design she had been doodling. For a moment Adrien feared that he might have scared her, but then she smiled at him and gestured to a spot beside her on her balcony's railing.

"What brings you here tonight?", she asked amicably.

"Just wanted to see how you were doing after that akuma attack at your school today." It was basically the truth. He didn't have to tell her that he'd been worried when she didn't return after everything was over. Classes had been cancelled, so it made sense that she just went back home, and anyway, the Miraculous Cure would have fixed any real problems. Still, it was good to know for sure that she was alright.

"Hm… angry, I guess," she said, while adding yet another spike to the dress. This one had a barb at the end. "Not angry enough for an Akuma, don't worry. Just, you know, generally angry at Hawkmoth. Hence, this…"

She added some saw tooths along the hem.

"Princess, that outfit is amazingly well designed, and I love the colors… but if anyone ever wore that in a crowded subway car, they'd gut everyone around them."

She laughed. "My goal was something that no butterfly could land on. Yeah, I know, it doesn't work like that, but it's a fun way to use that anger."

"I can see that. But you're usually not that angry after an akuma attack, especially one that wasn't even that violent."

After a second, he added, "err, or so I've heard". Phew. Close one. Sometimes, in the twilight, on this balcony and with Marinette, he felt so at ease that the lines between Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir were starting to get a bit blurry, and he came close to saying things he shouldn't, or referencing things that Marinette couldn't know. Especially if he was a bit sleep-deprived.

Marinette nodded and put her sketchbook aside. He was a bit sad, because the design had been awesome, but it was probably for the best. She had just started adding barbed wire to the neckline.

"Yeah, this attack was different. After I left my hiding place, I ran into Anaïs – the girl who was akumatized. She's in a different class at school. We sometimes meet in the art room. She's sweet, usually a good person to ask for feedback."

Chat Noir nodded. "How was she doing? She was upset over something Chloe said, right?"

"Yeah, her guinea pig had died, and Chloe thought that was funny. From there, well, you saw the rest."

He let out a huff.

"Always Chloe creating these akumas. It gets old."

To his surprise, Marinette shook her head.

"I don't blame Chloe." He let out a surprised yelp. She looked at him, and quickly continued.

"I mean, don't get me wrong. Chloe is a pest and super annoying. She deserves all the times that she gets in danger… well, half… ish… up to. Point is, Chloe sucks and she makes people upset and angry. But she doesn't punish them for feeling that way. Hawkmoth does."

"Punish them…?" Hm, interesting. That was not the way he usually thought about this.

"It took me a while to think about it that way, too," she said, apparently sensing his confusion. "But you should have seen Anaïs there. She was sitting in the corner, with the worst fake smile I've ever seen. And she just kept saying how sorry she was for being sad and angry. She said, 'I'll try not to feel so much next time'."

Huh. "That kind of sounds like a good–"

"Don't," said Marinette, glaring. "You didn't see her. It was heartbreaking. This girl was absolutely terrified of her own emotions. And she was terrified of being terrified. She kept starting to tear up, but then she always caught herself and tried to supress it. But of course that didn't work, so she started crying again. Over and over. And the things she said, the way she blamed herself…"

"Sorry, yeah, that does sound… not good…" He did not know why he felt defensive right now. Logically, he knew she was right. But the words 'I'm sorry for being sad' echoed in his mind in a very unwelcome manner.

"So how is she doing now?", he asked. Marinette's concern was infectious.

"Well, we talked for two hours, until her mother could pick her up from school. She was crying, a lot, when I left her. And I actually think that was a success."

She snorted angrily.

"See, that's what Hawkmoth does. He makes us terrified of feeling!"

"I… I never thought about it that way. I always thought, you know, Hawkmoth sucks, but if it leads to people having less negative emotions, that's at least something good."

"Well, if it leads to people being nice, that's nice, sure. But there's always going to be misunderstandings, or different goals, or complicated situations, or people who are just plain… Chloe! If something is bad, then being angry or sad about it isn't wrong. It's natural! Being sad when your pet dies isn't bad; it shows you that the love was real, and you miss it. And when Chloe does something that's unfair or mean, anger motivates us to make it right! There have been plenty of days where I was running mostly on Chloe anger."

He smiled. No matter how shy she was around him, he had seen her angry often enough. Angry Marinette was a beautiful force of nature; a bit scary, but also powerful and inspiring.

"Hooray for anger!" he shouted, and she laughed. "As long as you don't overdo it, I guess…"

"Well, of course. If you wallow in it, any emotion can be a problem. But, like… remember my grandma on my birthday? Or Max, when he lost the tournament? Normally, I'm sure they'd have calmed down after an hour, but thanks to Hawkmoth, they couldn't. He trapped them there."

She took the lucky charm he had made for her birthday out of her vest pocket and started playing with it. He almost melted on the spot. To see that she had kept it…

"You're right, princess," he said, smiling. "Except for where you say any emotion. I don't think you can ever, say, love someone too much." He hoped, at least.

"Oh, sure, you can. If you, say, have a crush on someone and you leave them a voice message that's so embarassing so you decide the best way to fix it is to steal their phone and delete it, that's maybe a bit too far…"

For some reason Marinette was blushing at that. Weird.

"I don't know. I guess that sounds kind of sweet," he said, without thinking. Yeah, it was a bit weird, but also the kind of fun romance story he loved to read, no matter how much Plagg teased him for it. Marinette let out a weird yelp, and he briefly wondered whether he had misunderstood something.

"Sorry, is this something that happened to you?"

Marinette stammered and sputtered. "Oh, eh, no, not at all, it was a– a friend, yes, a friend who did that. To her crush. Who is not my crush. I mean, at all. I don't even know him. And both of them aren't in France. Nothing to do with me."

Once more he was impressed by the huge number of friends Marinette had. Maybe she could introduce him to some of them one of these days?

"That sounds like an interesting friend. Well, you can tell her that Chat Noir doesn't approve of such actions… but he doesn't mind either." He winked at her.

Marinette nodded, still blushing. He had no idea why she was embarrassed about her friend's actions, but he figured he'd better drop the topic.

"I get what you're saying. The cause is bad, not the emotion." He did get it, honestly. In fact, he had said pretty much the same thing to Nino when he tearfully apologized for supposedly ruining his birthday, and he had meant it. The problem was living it himself.

"But I can see why the Akuma victims don't feel that way."

Marinette nodded. "The destruction and violence, that's one thing. I can fix– find faith in the fact that Ladybug can fix that. But the fear and the unnecessary shame, that sticks with people. Hawkmoth robs us of the right to be angry." She stood up tall and raised her fist. "And that's why we will defeat him!"

"Yay, let's take Hawkbutt's Miracu–"

"Errm, I mean, you and Ladybug, of course. But we, I mean, the city of Paris, all of us, we are behind you."

"–lous… - oh, yeah, right. Us, the heroes, and you the citizens." Weird. For a really tiny moment there, in all the excitement, Adrien had managed to forget that he was talking to Marinette, not Ladybug. And this wasn't the first time either. She really deserved the title as 'Everday Ladybug' more than he could ever tell her.

"Us heroes, we couldn't do it without you. I couldn't do it without you, Marinette", he said. He was not entirely sure why, but he felt it with all his heart.

For a moment, they both stood there, smiling and full of energy. Him, the accidental superhero, and her, the person who he thought really deserved the role.

But then, her face sunk again as she looked out over the city.

"That's not all that's bothering you, is it?", said Adrien softly.

Marinette took a deep breath.

"Well, I guess... I have this one friend in my class, and this whole thing, it reminds me of him. He's so kind, and beautiful, and charming, and wonderful - er, I mean -"

"Oh, sounds like someone has a crush!", crowed Adrien.

"Sh-shut up, you mangy cat", said Marinette. She lightly punched him in the arm. Her face showed the slightest hint of a blush, but she was also grinning.

Well, that was certainly no denial. Interesting. Who could Marinette have a crush on? Also, what was that weird feeling in his stomach right now?

"Anyway, this is isn't about that", said Marinette. "He's naturally kind, but when he talks about his father, it sounds so similar. It's not as extreme, but his father puts him through all these ridiculous thing, adds stuff to his schedule all the time, and you can see that my friend doesn't like it. But he never complains. He doesn't get angry or sad. He just gets really quiet and accepts it. Like he's afraid of what would happen otherwise. Like his father would punish him for not being perfect. Kind of like Hawkmoth."

Adrien felt his stomach drop. That sounded a lot like–

No. He had to keep it together. She was not talking about him. It couldn't be him. After all, she had a crush on the mystery boy. Adrien was fairly certain he'd know if Marinette had such feelings for him.

Still, what she was saying did come uncomfortably close to some thoughts he'd had, thoughts he usually tried to push away, because lingering on them just left him feeling sad and helpless and pathetic for feeling that way in the first place and–

Stop. He needed to change the topic, quickly, before he ended up drowning her in feelings he should be better at keeping at bay.

"But it's not a punishment, is it? Err, for Hawkmoth, I mean. He gives them the best things that money can buy– err, I mean, like metaphorically. Powers. Yes. I mean, it makes sense that he'd think they want that. So, you know, he does care. He's just, not, perfect at..."

This was a disaster. How did he end up defending Hawkmoth of all people? Even worse, he knew his arguments were hollow and stupid.

Marinette eyed him with suspicion for a moment, but then she seemed to see something in his eyes, and her expression softened.

"I don't know, maybe Hawkmoth does think he's helping the people. But that does not mean he cares. I've seen how my class teacher fought that Akuma that came for her, how terrified she was, and how sorry she was afterwards. And there are many reports like that on the Ladyblog! If he did care about the people, he'd have tried something else long ago. No matter what Hawkmoth says, he is clearly doing this all just for himself."

She was right, obviously. But if she was right about that, and right about the other thing, then…

"That boy at your school. What do you think he should do?" The question was out before he had even realized he had thought it.

Marinette sighed.

"I don't really know. I just… I want to tell him that he can talk to me about it. That I'm happy to listen to him. And that he's not the one at fault."

Her compassion was always a beautiful sight to behold. He could never get enough of it.

"You say you want to tell him that. Why don't you, princess?"

"Oh, I don't know, it's just… we're not that close. Whenever I am around him, I start to stutter, and mess up my words, and trip over my feet…"

He chuckled. So it wasn't just his civilian self that caused this reaction in her. Good. He had been rather worried about that.

Marinette shot him a mildly indignant look, one not too dissimilar from the one he'd get from his Lady during the very few times he'd make fun of her and she wasn't quick enough with a come-back.

Then her face softened once more, and she smiled at him. And for a tiny moment, as her eyes met his, he got the impression that she knew him on a level that ran deeper than either 'Chat Noir' or 'Adrien Agreste'.

"You know, kitty, you can talk to me, too."


End file.
